


I Can't Go On (Shut Up!)

by KazimaKuwabara



Series: The Captain's Crew [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Fear, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Nakama, Near Death Experiences, Self-Doubt, Slave Trade, Slavery, Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:20:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,314
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25657288
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazimaKuwabara/pseuds/KazimaKuwabara
Summary: Ten times Luffy's crewmates thought they could go no further, and the ten times he told them to shut up.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Series: The Captain's Crew [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1852714
Comments: 15
Kudos: 158





	I Can't Go On (Shut Up!)

**Zoro**

He vomited.

Blood and bile slid past his teeth and splattered to the ground; adding to the pool of blood already growing beneath his feet. The many wounds carved into his body bled freely, and Zoro had neither the know-how nor the desire to stop their steady flow.

He was going to join Kuina any minute now by the looks of it.

Zoro unclenched his jaw, adjusting Wado in his mouth. His eyes slowly scanned the sea of marines out before him, and he can't help but admire the fact that they all wield swords. And some of them... are pretty good at wielding them too. Zoro's rather flattered.

There's something exciting about the thought that it's going to take hundreds of other swordsmen to bring him down. 

And then again, he's annoyed as he wonders if Mihawk would be taken out by this, or even hindered.

He grips his blades tighter...

_No._

No... Mihawk would probably take these morons out, and leave without a scratch. He still has so far to go. Zoro's vision swims, and it is through his own stubbornness and will, that his vision balances back out. Perhaps he won't be able to anymore.

"Kuina... I don't think I can keep my promise... but I'll defeat every last one of these assholes to make up for it," Zoro says to himself, smiling as the crowd of sword-wielding marines, took a step back. "And you can kick my ass to hell after I bow my head in shame to you in heaven."

Zoro adjusts his stance, his many rent wounds leaking as he prepares himself.

There is another regret besides Kuina, and that is of course breaking his promise to Luffy. He has yet to see him become the Pirate King. He hasn't seen the others complete their dreams either. And honestly... he had wanted to. Wanted to see Nami's map. Wanted to see Laboon and Brook reunite. Wanted to celebrate when Chopper could become a doctor that cured everything. He even wanted to see Sanji's face when he discovered the All Blue.

There is a lot to regret.

"Sorry, Luffy... Looks like I can't go any further-"

"SHUT UP!" Luffy's voice bellows, echoing out from above, and in the form of a huge blown up rubber ball, Zoro's Captain sails over his head, crashing into the crowd. The marines scream and scatter, and rushing right after Luffy, the rest of the crew comes running.

Zoro's stance slackens, as he blinks in startled confusion at the sight.

He is swarmed by his friends before he can blink.

Chopper is already at his leg, stitching together a bloody wound and shouting about Zoro needing to sit.

Zoro is bewildered.

Sanji runs past, kicking a marine in the face, and sending him into a crowd of other marines, knocking them all down like rolling pins. 

"Hey!" Zoro says, his voice too low to be rough, "I told you all to run. I'm the distraction."

Sanji snorts at Zoro and looks the swordsman up and down. Sanji's lips tighten at the sight of him. Zoro must be quite a sight if Sanji is looking that worried.

The chef blows some hair from his face, "Yeah, well... Luffy wasn't going to have it. Nor would anyone else, you shitty Marimo. Sit down so Chopper can stitch you up!"

Franky runs by and laughs, "Be a good patient and we'll save the best fighter for you!"

Zoro sits down, willingly, and not because he's running out of blood, and it's hard to see. He sits down because he'd rather face the toughest fighter and not the fodder- _and that's it!_ He forces a laugh, as Chopper squawks at the sight of Zoro's ruined chest and torso.

"ZORO! YOU BETTER GET FIXED UP! I'M GOING TO KICK YOUR BUTT IF YOU DON'T!" Luffy roars from somewhere.

Zoro chuckles closing his eyes.

"Right Captain," he says as he lets the little doctor do his work.

**Nami**

Nami is hanging off the edge of a cliff, a bag of treasure hanging over one shoulder, and Luffy's hat clutched in her teeth.

By climbing up this cliffside, she has managed to escape the other pirates pursuing her... but she and her bag have taken quite a beating.

The treasure is spilling over the edge, and she'd be crying and screaming about it, but she'd rather lose all her money (heaven forbid) than let go of the hat clamped in her teeth. Those other Pirate assholes took her Captain's hat so it made sense for her to get it back, plus a little interest.

She reaches up and pulls herself another few inches up the sheer cliffside. She still has several feet to go. Her bag rips further, and she mourns quietly as a beautiful jewel-encrusted kaleidoscope, rumored to be formerly owned by Gold D. Roger's original navigator, falls down, down, down, down...

She hears the tinkling of glass on the rocks.

In her head, she can hear Usopp's voice telling her to let go of the bag of treasure and save her life.

She hates to think he's right. Imagination, or not.

She clings to the bag, to Luffy's hat, and climbs a little higher.

She manages her slow climb for another few minutes, when the inevitable happens.

The bag fully rips and the treasure falls away, and admittedly, the absence of its weight is a relief. Usopp in her head says, _"Told you so!"_

She bites down harder on Luffy's hat, and swears she's going to dock Usopp's allowance! Even in her thoughts, he's not allowed to sass her.

A strong gust of wind rips Luffy's hat away from her, and without thinking, she kicks away from the cliff and snatches it. She has rescued Luffy's hat, but damned herself. She has less than a second to marvel at her own stupidity before she is falling.

She plummets, turning her back to the ground, so she can avoid watching it rushing to meet her.

"What was I thinking...?" Nami says, her body growing cold as ice, as a grim realization chills her.

She grips the hat to her chest, a hollow dread filling her up.

Her map isn't done. She hadn't been around the world yet. She hasn't seen One Piece. She hasn't done everything she wanted to do. She didn't get to see her friends do everything they wanted to do. There's a lot to regret. There is no time to regret. It'll be over in a violent crash any second.

But it was fun while it lasted.

"Luffy... I'm sorry. This... this is it," Nami says closing her eyes as tears fly from her cheeks.

"NAMI!" An angry voice makes her eyes open, and she screams in shock, terror, and delight as she sees Luffy dive off the cliff she had been trying to climb up.

His springy arms stretch out and wrap around her in many loops, and he tugs her close as she screams angrily in his face, "IDIOT! We'll both die! Luffy!"

He glares at her, lower lip stuck out like he's pouting, "Shut up, Nami! Don't be dumb!" He then has the audacity to grin at her and laugh. 

She screams in his ear and buries her face in his neck as the ground gets ever closer. They abruptly stop their descent, Luffy making a tiny sound of protest as they were jolted into an abrupt halt. They swing side to side for a moment, then slowly still. Nami opens her teary eyes when they come to a complete stop, and finally noticed the many hands looped around Luffy's waist.

"Captain! Nami! Are you alright down there?" Robin's voice calls from somewhere above.

Nami looks down, only a few inches away from a messy death on the rocks. 

She leans down and picks up the broken kaleidoscope, the jewels shining in the light. She plops her Captain's hat on his head and he smiles brightly at her.

"You're fine," Luffys says with a grin, his hat lopsided on his head, and his face only slightly pained from Robin's many arms curled around his ribs.

She nods, and hugs him, grateful to have a Captain that will refuse to let her go.

**Usopp**

Usopp fires his Pop Greens from his spot on the tip-top of a tree, while his crew sails away.

They are sailing away, and this time he won't be able to rejoin them. 

Something about that hurts him more than he thought it would... but he's trying to be brave now.

He is serving as a distraction against the monstrous creatures of the island. He would never have normally volunteered for such a duty, but Luffy is hurt, and Chopper needs time to fix him. Fix him before it's too late. They also have a limited time to escape before the strange water twisters start up again, closing the island off from the outside world for another year.

According to Robin, the huge spirals of water normally keep people away from the island, but the twisters go down for three days a year. It was during this time, that the Straw Hats visited the island, and stopped some illegal hunters, intent to make a fortune off the slaughter of the strange and monstrous beasts on the island. An atrocity that riled up Chopper and Luffy.

Unfortunately, the survivors of that hunting group as well as the monstrous animals the Straw Hats had freed, had all done them harm.

Even Sanji and Zoro were half down for the count... and of course, Luffy was down. The sight of his crew hurt, always made Usopp want to stand up and be brave, but especially Luffy. There was something wrong about Luffy being hurt, and Usopp couldn't be afraid when his Captain was hurting.

The crew needed to escape, and Usopp was proving the be the most useful in keeping the hunters and terrible beasts away. His sniping skills and the pop greens kept their pursuers at bay. He needed to stay behind.

So while the crew had been distracted with the many injured crewmates, and readying the ship to escape, Usopp had stayed back on the island, protecting their backs.

He just simply kept his mouth shut as they sailed away. 

It was only now, that Sanji and Zoro were stabilizing, the Jinbe was awake, and that Chopper was wrapping the unconscious Captain's body, that many voices were calling out his name. His absence had been noticed at last. He had hoped it'd be later... but of course his friends wouldn't just forget about him.

They had noticed. And they screamed for him. Usopp just kept firing at the beasts that threatened his crewmates' escape. He didn't dare turn to look at them leaving now, he was not brave enough to.

"Longnose-kun!" Robin's voice is breaking as she cries out for him, "The twisters are starting up!!"

"USOPP-BRO!" Franky roars.

"USOPP!!" Nami and Brook sob together.

And on it goes.

Many voices blend together.

Usopp is sobbing but does not turn to look back at his friends. He forces his back to be straight and holds up an arm straight in the air when he has a moment he doesn't have to fire his Kabuto.

"Don't worry about me!" He shouts, forcing laughter and smugness in his voice, "I've survived for two years on an Island that would try to eat me! I can survive with some dumb animals, for a year. Just... come back for me in that time, alright!?"

He hears screaming behind him, and Usopp wipes his eyes. He levels his Kabuto with a giant three-headed, tiger-like creature, that is barreling toward him. In the face of death, Usopp grins, "I'm sorry... I really wanted to keep going with you all. But it looks like... I can't go on more than this... Luffy... you're going to be the greatest Pirate King-"

Usopp's words are choked out of him as familiar rubber arm hooks around his throat.

He is ripped off the island, in a very familiar, _harrowing_ , rubbery tug.

Usopp is being strangled, so he can't even scream as Luffy tugs him all the way back to the Thousand Sunny, just in time to witness the island being closed off by the long twists of spiraling water. Usopp can finally breathe when he's flat on his back on the Thousand Sunny, his friends crowding around them, their eyes full of tears, anger, and relief.

Usopp turns to look at his Captain, the man who again, dragged him back. Chopper is still working in Luffy, who seems to have made himself worse from the effort of bringing Usopp back.

"Th-thank Goodness you're awake!" Usopp finds himself saying.

Luffy, pale and bleeding, and looking more wrung out than Usopp has ever seen him, glares at Usopp. He very lightly baps a fist on Usopp's head and wheezes, "S-Shut up. Stupid. Who... who says you can... stay behind, huh?"

He passes out after that.

Usopp's glad for that too, because now he can bawl without Luffy seeing.

He's so grateful to be apart of the crew... even if they're all furious at him right now.

**Sanji**

He can't breathe. The rubble crushing his chest is too heavy.

Idly, he hopes he managed to get everyone out of the collapsing building on time.

He'd almost gotten out himself, but he had spotted Brook's unconscious body. With a lot of guilt, he had shouted Usopp's name and kicked Brook at Usopp like a horrifying skeletal soccer ball. 

Usopp had turned surprised, and then caught the musician, the force of the catch knocking Usopp several yards back. The last thing Sanji had seen was not Nami's beautiful face, or even Robin's... but had been the Marimo, glaring at him in disbelief and anger.

Something about the look reminded Sanji of Thriller Bark, and despite himself, he smiled at Zoro.

And then the building came down on him and buried him.

It had been dark for a long time. Sanji thinks he's been knocked out for some time, lost in a sea of blackness that washed him in waves of memories, and things that had not yet come to pass. His arms are pinned beneath a heavy slab of stone, and Sanji aches in a way he has not ached in a while.

He's not sure how long he has been buried, but he hopes he bleeds out. He does not want to die trapped in the dark, and starving to death. He could not bear to go through starvation again... _anything_ but that.

 _'Zeff... you better be still kickin' old man... Zeff... Zeff, I'm sorry,'_ Sanji thinks his eyes heavy.

The rubble is shifting, and a pole whizzes by his head, cutting his cheek as it pierces the ground.

He'd laugh if he could.

Sanji closes his eyes and thinks of the cigarette in his pocket. He wishes he could have one last smoke before the rubble collapses fully on him, and takes him out.

He tries to think of Nami, his beautiful perfect navigator. He wants her to be the last thought he has. But his thoughts start with her and drift around the rest of the crew, no matter how long he tries to stay with Nami. His mind only settles on Luffy.

 _'How annoying,'_ Sanji thinks, smiling despite his annoyance, _'Luffy... I really wanted to cook you a feast when you became king...'_

"SANJI!" Luffy's voice roars, and the chef's eyes fly open.

The darkness is cut through with bright piercing daylight, and Jinbe and Franky are hoisting a huge slap of cement over their head. Luffy is running towards Sanji, his rubber hands shooting out and gripping the rubble off of Sanji with little effort.

Sanji coughs as the pressure is removed, and groans as Luffy wraps his arms around him, a little too tightly.

"Lu-Luffy..."

"I've got you!" Luffy says, and then looks back, "Chopper! Hurry! I don't know if I can move him!"

Sanji tries to lift his arms up, and he cries out at the pain. 

"Stop moving dummy!" Luffy snaps.

"Luffy..." Sanji groans, "I don't know if I can make you di-dinner tonight..."

Luffy looks grim, but perhaps not about dinner, "Shut up! We'll have dinner when you're better! I can wait!" 

Luffy's already drooling at the thought, at Sanji weakly laughs, fighting to stay awake as Chopper's furry hands gently fall on his body.

Sanji's pleased, that he's not done with this crew yet.

**Chopper**

"Chopper! Chopper! We've gotta go!" Brook is screaming for the little Reindeer, who is still patching up the injured villagers.

"These people will die without this treatment!" Chopper says back firmly, his eyes fueled with passion. He holds out a syringe, filled with the cure to the illness the island was inflicted with by cruel marines who were using the hapless village as test subjects.

"Chopper! The Marines are coming!" Brook says, running close to the little reindeer, his sockets full of worry.

"I'm not leaving these people! Not until everyone has the antidote in their system!" The doctor bleats stubbornly.

Brook sighs, "Oh dear... well I'm not going to leave you!" Brook draws his sword, "I'll defend you as long as these bones are able!"

Chopper smiles at his Nakama, "Thank you, Brook!"

It takes Chopper fifteen minutes to finish administering the cure, and for fifteen minutes Brook keeps the attacking Marines at bay. The villagers thank Chopper, and then they too flee, now confident enough that they'll survive their escape from this terrible island.

Chopper turns to Brook who has managed to stop most of the Marines. They have plenty of time to escape and find the rest of their crewmates. Chopper smiles, because things are looking up.

"Good job Chopper!" Brook says cheerfully, "We should get-" his jovial cheer is interrupted by an explosion.

Chopper is blinded by a flash of bright light, and the last thing he sees is Brook reaching for him as the ground breaks apart, and fire and rubble explode all behind him.

Chopper comes to, half buried in rubble. Everything hurts, and he's pretty sure he has a concussion. He would check, but again... everything hurts. It takes ten minutes alone, just for him to open his eyes and look around. The village he had been in, is completely destroyed. Houses are toppled over, and trees are uprooted. He hopes the people got away; he can't see them. No signs of anybody... save for a skeleton laying beside him, burnt, black, and broken.

"Brook... Brook..." Chopper whispers, and while he can't move an arm for himself, he will move it for Brook.

Brook does not answer. Not even when Chopper lands a hand on the remains of Brook's forearm. The Skeleton doesn't move.

Chopper tries to will his body to move further, but he can only reach out for Brook with one hand. He gives the skeleton a cursory check, the best one he can give with one hand. He struggles, but uses his mouth and his one hand, to tie a bandage around the broken skeleton before him, still weakly calling his name. Dreadfully, Chopper thinks the musician shielded him from death, at the cost of his own life.

"Brook!" Chopper sobs, his will to save his friend burning strong, even if his weak form will not listen to his will.

The skeleton's jaw crumbles away to ash.

Brook could not have survived.

He's dead... and gone.

Chopper cries until he passes out. He wakes up sometime later and cries again. He has failed. _He has failed!_ He is not worthy of being a doctor. Brook is dead and gone and he has failed. He could not save Brook. Didn't even have the strength to get up and check on him, or see to his body.

He does not deserve to be a doctor.

"I've failed. I've failed. I've failed! I will never be a doctor that can cure anything!"

"Shut up!" Luffy's voice says quietly from behind him, and with tender care, Chopper is rolled into his Captain's arm, Luffy's eyes are wide and a myriad of many emotions. 

Chopper sniffles, his eyes blurry from tears, "He's dead! He's dead! I didn't... I couldn't help him! Brook is dead!"

Luffy shushes him, this time quietly. He hoists the little reindeer up and clicks his tongue, "Chopper, you must feel really bad... Brook is fine. He's a bit banged up... but he'll be okay! And you will too!" Luffy smiles, and turns his body, pointing out at Jinbe who is cradling Brook. He looks battered and very banged up, but the skeleton waves emphatically at Chopper, tears streaming down his sockets as he prattles on at Chopper.

"Thank goodness we found you, yohohohoho!"

That is definitely Brook, and Chopper could just wail at the sight of him. But...

Chopper looks back at the skeleton on the ground, "Then who...?"

Luffy looks back down, and then all round the area. He makes a disappointed sound, "The village got all blown up... I bet even the graveyard too..." Luffy shifts Chopper in his arm and frowns at the little reindeer's battered body. 

Luffy starts walking carefully toward Jinbe, "Jinbe is all we have, but you can tell him how to fix you up! Everything is going to be okay Chopper... You're not done yet!"

Chopper, still shaken and frightened. Still worried about the what if's and the possibilities, takes Luffy's word for it. If his Captain says he's not done... then he's not done yet.

**Robin**

Robin watched as the crew horsed around on the Deck.

They had dodged death again, and just barely, as per usual.

This time, Robin's past had come back to haunt her, and she and her crewmates had almost lost their lives.

Perhaps it was naive of her to think she would never get as close to capture or death, as she had back at Enies Lobby... but she had been taken by surprise when the Marines had come for her, and her specifically. She had been careless.

She couldn't let that happen again.

Idly, she let her eyes shift over to Nami, the navigator laughing as Sanji goes overboard on serving her something to eat. Franky rolls his eyes at the sight, but tenderly bends down and drapes a blanket around the navigator's shoulder, and then offers a separate blanket to Usopp who is at her side. After Nami is served, Sanji smiles at the sniper, and make a big deal about handing him a slice of cake.

Usopp is sat next to Nami and is also getting some special treatment from Sanji, a rarity for Usopp to receive from the chef when a lady is present. But the pair had almost died and were both still very injured. Usopp needed to be carried everywhere while his many leg and back fractures healed, and Nami was at a risk for Pneumonia as she recovered from the fractured ribs, and nearly drowning. 

They both were subdued and quiet, the gravity of their injuries sapping their strength. It is a sobering thought to think their bright lives might have been snuffed out for her. It's not the first time she's had that thought, but to see the repercussions of her past again...

Robin curls her hands into tight fists.

She loved these people. _She loves them._

Why was she here risking their lives?

"I should go," She says aloud, the thought escaping her before she could think it through.

A hand slams down on her table she's sitting at, and she startles as she looks into Luffy's angry face.

"Hey. Shut up. You're not going anywhere," Luffy says, leveling her with a glare, that makes her flush and actually feel ashamed.

Feeling... oddly young for someone her age, she mutters, "I don't like to see any of you hurt."

"And I don't like to think of you alone!" Luffy snorts, and his hat is slapped on her head.

Her eyes flood with tears, and she wonders if there is a name for the phenomenon that is Luffy, or the comfort his hat being passed on brought.

She peaks at her Captain, and he holds her with a heavy stare. He smiles, when he sees something that he must like, and then puts down a plate of bacon. He had pilfered the stack from the kitchen, but Robin guesses he now thinks she needs it more. He still takes half of the bacon with him, but the fact that he leaves her half, as well as his hat, is endearing.

She takes a piece of bacon and nibbles at it politely. She looks out at the crew, and then follows her Captain's back with her eyes.

She is lucky to have so many that love her.

**Franky**

Franky is strapped to a table, and two men are planning to take him apart.

They are fascinated by the engineering he has put into himself, and rather than doing away with him, they plan to open him up and see how he works. He feels like a frog under a knife in some kid's school.

The two men laugh at how well Franky is behaving. He volunteered to go provided these assholes leave Robin and Luffy alone. They'd been caught off guard and overwhelmed. Luffy and Robin had been injured and pushed into the sea, clinging to a half broken raft.

They would have killed his Captain, and his crewmate, if Franky hadn't gone along... so here he was.

A willing lab rat.

"You don't need any kind of anesthesia do you?" the larger of the two men says, flashing a big toothy grin as he snaps on a rubber glove. 

"Because we don't plan to use any," the shorter of the two says, holding up a tool that looks more like an ice pick than any other type of surgical weapon.

Franky would shrug if the straps weren't keeping him so firmly in place, "Nah bros. I'm good. My nerves are all funky anyway. Cut away!"

"We'll release the rest of your crew once we're satisfied..." the larger man promises gesturing to a screen behind them.

The rest of Franky's crew, sans Robin, Luffy, and Zoro _(perhaps he running around free somewhere?)_ are locked up in a room. Franky's not stupid. He knows these two won't keep their word about letting the others go. But if Franky is here, and serves as a distraction, then his friends will either be rescued or have time to escape. Heck, on the screen, Franky can even tell Jinbe is up to something.

His crew will be out soon, Franky is sure of it.

Franky isn't banking on him making it out of this situation though.

And that's fine.

If this is as far as he can go... well, it was fun while it lasted. He already made a great ship, the greatest ship ever, if you ask him. He's served under a good man, the man who will be the pirate king. He met a great kid, who forgave him, and saved him, despite their rocky start, and Usopp is only going to continue to get better. He got to save a beautiful woman and even earn her friendship. He even met a talking skeleton. He has met so many wonderful people, and the best ones were his Nakama.

All of them were a good bunch, and all of them had filled his life up in many unexpected ways.

A scalpel is placed on his chest, and dug into his skin. His nerves were all messed up from all the work he had done to his body, so he really can't feel it. 

Franky laughs, "Do your worst bros! I've lived a good life... I've got no regrets!" 

The shorter one hums, "Perhaps we can damage his vocal cords... I don't like a test subject to be so chatty..."

The scalpel is dragged down Franky's chest, and he forces himself to remain still. He doesn't feel the cut per se, but he doesn't like the idea of these two clowns messing up his handiwork. They better not touch his nipple headlights! Those things are a riot-

The wall crumbles away like dust as a giant rubber fist smashes through a wall. Luffy is screaming with rage, and Zoro is right behind him, his blades slashing.

Franky laughs, "Oh, Captain! I thought that might have been it for me!"

"Shut up Franky!" Luffy snaps petulantly, throttling the taller man angrily.

Zoro cuts Franky free, and glares at the cyborg, "What the hell were you doing surrendering yourself?"

Franky casually plucks the scalpel from his chest, "Just buying you bros some time, and saving Luffy from a watery grave. These two fellas here were going to cut me up like a lab experiment!" Franky laughs, finding the whole situation funny.

Luffy socks him in the mouth, a weak hit for someone of Luffy's strength, and shouts, "Who asked you to go with these creeps?"

"Hey that hurt!" Franky shouts back, and punches Luffy back.

Luffy hisses like a wild animal and launches himself at Franky the pair rolling around like idiots.

Zoro checks the monitors, and nods as he sees Robin freeing the others on the monitor. He looks back at the tussling Franky and Luffy and sighs. He settles himself against a wall, deciding to nap while they wait for the others to rejoin them.

Luffy bites Franky's arm, " Who sayth ya can jus' go off wiff these bozo's!? You can't lea'ffe!"

"Ow! You damned Monkey!" Franky snaps, trying to tug the rubber man off of him, "I did it to save ya, you ungrateful welp!"

"I didn't ask for it!"

Franky laughs, and punches Luffy again. Seems like he still had a ways to go.

**Brook**

Brook is smoking.

It's a special grass he picked up from another island, and he is eager to try it. He was told, that if he rolled it up, alongside some other ingredients, it could help him relax, and today he is in the mood to relax and think.

They are close, very close to making it to the end. To the infamous, "One Piece," that Luffy has longed for. And then after that, Brook would see Laboon. 

And after that... What came after that?

How did his Devil fruit work? Would he expire once all his needs were satisfied? Is that how it worked? He had been wondering about his ability to die lately. Wondering if it was less to do with him getting a second chance, and more to do with finishing off any regrets he might have. If all his desires were taken care of... would he at last expire?

He took a long drag, and exhaled, a thick fragrant smoke pooling from his mouth, nose, and eye sockets.

He could send his soul from his body... he could even lose his head and remain among the living. So what would cause death for him? Did he need to satisfy something?

"Surely I'm not eternal..." Brook muttered, tapping his rolled cigarette of the excess ash, "No... no, I have a feeling that I can pass... but perhaps... it is when I do everything I wanted to do before I died. So... after Laboon?"

"Hey! What are you talking about to yourself?" Luffy's child-like voice interrupted Brook's thoughts.

The skeleton smiled, in his way, and chortled, "Yohohohoho! I was just thinking about how I will die one day."

"That's a crummy thing to think about!" Luffy says with a frown.

"Perhaps it's a bit macabre, but I've been alive a long time... and it will one day happen. Though... with my devil fruit ability, I don't know how," Brook patiently explained, taking another drag of his cigarette.

Luffy made a face, "You want to die?"

Brook chortled again, "Well, one day."

Luffy sagged into his shoulders, "No. Shut up."

Brook chuckled, "We all must go one day... I'm simply wondering how it will work with me."

Luffy got up, and tackled the skeleton from his hammock. They fell down in a mess of rubber limbs and bones. Brook held his rolled cigarette high in the air, trying with real effort not to ruin it or burn Luffy. As Luffy curled against him, Brook pat Luffy's back, chuckle as his Captain probably bruised his cheek while he rubbed it repeatedly against Brook's ribcage.

"You can't die! Not until... not until after we're all gone!" Luffy declares stubbornly. 

"Oh? I must go on even after you're the pirate king?" Brook muses, staring up at the sky as he holds his Captain loosely in his arm.

"Yup!" Luffy says squeezing Brook's bones, and rubbing his cheek against Brook's chest again.

"Even after Laboon?"

"Yup!"

"What will happen after that?"

"We'll sail around the Grand Line again!"

"And I must continue to go on after that?"

Luffy laughed, loud and fond, "Yeah!"

Brook chuckled, and took the last hit of his rolled cigarette. He let the thick smoke escape him in a great rush, Luffy coughing as some of the smoke caught him off guard as it slipped past the ribcage. Brook pat his Captain in apology, and with a thoughtful relaxed hum murmurs, "Well... if my Captain tells me I must persist... then persist I will!"

**Jinbe**

Jinbe is incredibly bitter as the Celestial Dragon snapped a collar around his throat. Two others, are trying to wrestle a muzzle around his mouth, and despite is exhaustion and injuries, Jinbe is doing a damned good job of not letting that happen. A large smattering of other Nobles, watch, and laugh at Jinbe's rough state.

"Stupid Fish-man!" A Celestial hisses, touching a rod to Jinbe's stomach.

A current of electrical energy is shot through Jinbe's stomach, and he arches as the current stiffens his whole body. He lets out a frustrated howl, and the men laugh at him like he is an animal.

"We can get those chompers removed later!" A different Celestial Dragon says with a big grin, "But get that damn muzzle on him!"

Jinbe needs to be shocked twice more before they can achieve their goal.

With the muzzle, collar, and shackles, heavy on his body, Jinbe feels defeated in a way he hasn't felt... in years. He thinks of Fisher Tiger, the man he respected more than most, and his tearful admittance of being a slave.

Jinbe had wanted to avoid this type of atrocity at all costs. As if, as long as he remained free, he was honoring his former Captain somehow. As long as he remained free, and saved others from this fate, Fisher Tiger could rest at peace in his grave. 

He is slammed back to the ground, and the Celestial Dragons begin to drag him of.

The shame, and the guilt of failing Fisher Tiger's memory, is so bitter.

And to add to it, is the thought of no longer getting to travel with Luffy.

Jinbe twists and smashes his face into the ground, the Celestial Dragons jolting as he manages to halt their slow march. He had sailed the sea longer than most and had served under one great man until his death. He would not be taken away from the second man, the one who would be Pirate King, like a dirty dog.

"Quit resisting!" A Celestial Dragon growls, wielding the rod in his hand like a great weapon.

"I... am Jinbe, the Knight of the Sea, and a man of my word," Jinbe growls back defiantly, the metal of the muzzle cutting the corners of his mouth, "and I... promised to see Luffy become the King of the Pirates. I will not be dragged off from here. I will not be taken... I will either die now, or rejoin my Captain. I am not going to be taken by the likes of you!"

The Celestial Dragons assaulted Jinbe with blows, weak and pitiful at best, but still, a problem given Jinbe's current condition. He withstood them, growling in more annoyance than pain, and thought of the man he chose to follow.

"I will... See Luffy become... the Pirate King!" Jinbe roared, voice surging with power.

"You'll die licking my boots!" The head Celestial dragon roars back, picking up a chain and wielding it over his head.

A popping sound fills the air, and vines coil around the man's hand, and erupts like a tangled exploding weed, grasping and encircling the Celestial Dragon with living fury.

Everything stops.

Jinbe looks up and he can see his crew standing from atop a cliffside, Usopp's hand still drawn back from his Kabuto. Luffy has a hand on his hat, and he coils his body, launching himself like a spring towards the Celestial Dragons.

His face is calm, but his eyes are boiling over with rage, and he shouts, "Hey Dragons... SHUT UP!"

His fists destroys a path between Jinbe and the Celestial Dragons, and Jinbe goes flying as Luffy separates him from his would-be captors.

Franky catches him with ease, and as he is set on the ground, the chains, muzzle, and collar fall to pieces with a flick of Zoro's wrist.

Robin's gentle hand is on his shoulder, and she draws Jinbe's gaze with her calming presence. Eyes wide, and face serious she looks into Jinbe's gaze and asks, "Jinbe... are you alright?"

Jinbe focuses on Luffy in the background, absolutely destroying the Celestial Dragons with his fists alone.

He smiles, and laughs, "Yes, absolutely. I'm perfectly fine now."

Robin smiles, and Jinbe returns it as Franky squeezes his shoulder, and Chopper clambers over to check on Jinbe's injuries.

Luffy rages on his crewmate's behalf, none of his Nakama can leave without his say so, and he'll stop anyone and everyone if they try it.

His crew... is just fine with all that.

**Author's Note:**

> I love the dramatic friendship moments in the series, so I was like... let's have a bit more. I also wanted it to not just be about death, but about them feeling stumped in their personal goals too. I hoped each little section was enjoyable. Thanks for reading!


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